Catalunya Trouble...

I am in my 2nd year now with McLaren. Leading the table. All is going fine and on comes this track. I know that this track has fast AI and is very difficult. Last year when i was with Virgin i had average time of 1:27:7xx. Now with ML i thought at least i would be a lot faster. But my times are now only up to lower 1:26's, with pole going at something like 1:23:3xx. I put on the slower AI fix. But read that it is only for the race not for practice and qualifying. I have tried loads of setups. The lowest i got was 1:25:847. Which was still good enough for something like 12th or 13th. Could you guys let me know how you handle the track?

If you're using tyre sim, the track won't be rubbered in at the start of free practice; if you're comparing times from Quali last year to P1/2 this year you may well be chasing the track condition rather than your own pace.

I am not chasing anything! I am just trying to make my own time good. I do play with Tyre Sim on. But should i turn it off?

No matter what i do, how clean i race my times are always slower. I am the fastest man on track in Sector 1 and 2 seconds slower than Alonso in S2. And i don't even know my S3 times. But i am guessing i am slower in there as well. But in all this time i have learned to drive clean. I dont know why i am losing time. Any suggestions would be good! :frown:

Mind you it is technically impossible to win at Catalunya with Expert settings (Full assists off, Fuel + Tyre sims on, Legend AI) at least in career mode. I have never seen anyone winning this GP in career mode on Expert.

Mine is all sims on. TC full and ABS on. My laps are clean as it can be, but times remain the same! I can even post a video for you guys if you want it! I am really trying to unravel this mystery of Catalunya! :tongue:

A bad quali means I can go forwards in the race.

Hell_Storm2004
The quali times for F1 2010 are generated from a database and the sector 2 times for Catalunya are too fast. So you will never get Pole. You can be up 1 second each in sector 1 and 3 and they will beat you. Its like being in a swimming race with a dolphin. My best results have been quali on Primes, agressive opening laps-they will queue like gentlemen for the first couple of slow corners. Form a "Trulli train" and then race them after your pit stop when you will be on Options.
By the way for your own personal performance I would recommend losing ABS and TCS as soon as possible. The game is more real without.

I do play with a game pad and the problem is the throttle control on slow corners. I always spin about like a top on hair pins and chicanes. ABS i can try. I would have to do it slowly. But any sort of advise with the game pads and TC off would be most welcome!

It's not actually that hard to get used to throttle control with a pad. I find it amazing but I hear a real F1 car's accelerator pedal only has 35-40mm of travel, which isn't so far off the trigger on a standard 360 pad. Not saying it's the same as a real car by any stretch, but the limitation compared to a wheel and pedals isn't that much once you get used to the way the car responds - you'll learn to take a much better line as a side-effect of losing TCS, since you can't turn and accelerate hard at the same time. The same applies to braking without ABS, but overall that's the easier of the two aids to do without.

The Spanish Grand Prix is usually the Grand Prix that all the teams bring their first major upgrades to, and I have to assume that every team has new upgrades, except my team (hence why it is so hard for myself to do well here). What ticks me off is my team's expectations. Driving the crappy HRT car in my 2nd season with hardly any upgrades done to the car so far this season, and the team is expecting me to qualify 8th and finish 6th? I am in an HRT for crying out loud and they want an 8th and a 6th? What are the people at Code Masters smoking and why are they refusing to share with the rest of us?